A Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, First Edition
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization which manages the rules of trade between nations. Established on 1 January 1995 from the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it exists to provide a forum for trade negotiations, administer trade agreements and handle trade disputes.
The WTO has a membership of 148 countries which meet at a ministerial conference held at least every two years. Day-to-day decisions are made by the general council, delegates of the member states. Decisions are made by consensus. The four largest members—Canada, the European Union (EU), Japan and the USA—are referred to the as the quadrilaterals or ‘quad’. Member states of the EU are represented by themselves and the EU. The work of the WTO is supported by the secretariat which is headed by the director-general, currently Supachai Panitchpakdi.
Recent ministerial conferences held in 1999 in Seattle, USA, in 2001 in Doha, Qatar, and in 2003 in Cancún, Mexico, have given rise to much controversy. Anti-globalization protesters disrupted the Seattle meeting and the Cancún meeting ended inconclusively as agreement was blocked by an alliance of southern states.
Dir-Gen.: Supachai Panitchpakdi
Address: Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland
Tel: (0)227395111
Fax: (0)227314206
E-mail: enquiries@wto.org
Internet: www.wto.org
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